Crime and Policing Bill

Further written evidence submitted by ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) (CPB56)

Crime and Policing Bill – Evidence for Committee  

 

 

Introduction  

 

ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) is a leading children’s rights organisation working to ensure children can enjoy their rights to protection from trafficking and transnational child sexual exploitation. We campaign for and support children everywhere to uphold their rights to live free from abuse and exploitation through an integrated model involving research, policy, training, and direct practice. Our vision is ‘Children everywhere are free from exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery.’ We promote and uphold children’s rights to protection, provision, and participation in the UK and outside of the UK.  

 

Executive Summary   

 

1. ECPAT UK welcomes the Government’s efforts to address child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation and abuse within the Crime and Policing Bill. This evidence is our second submission following legal advice on the provisions of the bill regarding :

a. C hildren’s access to the statutory defence under Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for criminal offences committed as a result of their exploitation and its relationship with the new child criminal exploitation offence.

Protecting Child Victims: The Urgent Case for Amending Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015

2. Children who are exploited may commit criminal offences as a direct result of their exploitation. Despite this, they continue to face criminalisation in the UK, and there is no publicly available, UK-wide data on how often the non-punishment principle or Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is applied to them. [1] This statutory defence was introduced to protect victims of modern slavery and trafficking from prosecution when they have committed a crime as a result of their exploitation. Yet, in practice, many exploited children are not consistently safeguarded, even when formally recognised as victims. [2]

3. The proposed creation of a standalone offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) under Clause 17 of the Crime and Policing Bill is a significant and welcome step. It will help acknowledge the specific harms faced by children who are exploited through criminality. However, without a corresponding amendment to Section 45(5) of the Modern Slavery Act, this reform risks failing the very children it aims to protect.

Current Legal Gaps and Practice Failures

4. Section 45(5) of the Modern Slavery Act sets out categories of "relevant exploitation" that trigger the statutory defence, including sexual exploitation, organ removal, and securing services or benefits through coercion. While Section 3(6) outlines the use of vulnerable individuals, including children, for exploitative purposes, it does not expressly refer to child criminal exploitation or align directly with the proposed new Clause 17 offence.

5. The absence of clear statutory language linking Clause 17 with Section 45 risks the defence being inconsistently applied, or worse, not applied at all to children exploited through for criminal purposes. Police officers, prosecutors, and courts may interpret the applicability of the defence too narrowly, leaving vulnerable children exposed to criminal sanctions instead of protection.

6. This concern is not theoretical. In February 2024, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the Metropolitan Police Service was ineffective in responding to child sexual and criminal exploitation. [3] Shockingly, half of the cases reviewed were graded as inadequate, with evidence that officers often failed to identify children as victims, seeing them instead as offenders.

Lack of Transparency and Data

7. Despite growing awareness of child criminal exploitation, transparency around the use of Section 45 remains limited. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not publish data on how often the defence is raised or successfully applied. There is also no available information on how many children have used the defence and how many where still convicted for offences. [4] This data gap makes it difficult to assess how the law is functioning and whether it is fulfilling its protective purpose.

8. Home Office figures from December 2023 indicate that since the launch of the County Lines Programme in 2019, 5,165 county lines had been closed and over 15,600 individuals arrested, including many children. [5] Of those arrested, 8,011 were referred for safeguarding. However, 2,891 children were referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2024 for criminal exploitation yet almost 16,000 children were identified by local authorities as at risk of harm due to criminal exploitation in 2023 to 2024, [6] serious concerns remain that criminalised children are not being adequately safeguarded-even when identified as victims. [7]

9. A 2020 call for evidence by the former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) confirmed that children are being prosecuted for crimes committed during their exploitation, particularly in drug-related offences. [8] It found little evidence of Section 45 being misused as a defence and recommended further research into its application for child trafficking victims. A 2019 investigation by The Guardian similarly found that children were being prosecuted despite being trafficked and forced into criminal activity. [9]

The Case for Legislative Clarity

10. The current ambiguity in the legislation undermines efforts to protect children. To rectify this, the proposed new Clause 17 offence should be explicitly included in the definition of "relevant exploitation" under Section 45(5) of the Modern Slavery Act. This amendment would bring necessary clarity and ensure that exploited children are recognised and protected by the statutory defence, not treated as offenders.

11. This is not just a technical fix-it is a matter of safeguarding children. Without this change, we risk enshrining a two-tier system: one that recognises child exploitation in principle but fails to deliver protection in practice. Children exploited for criminality must not be criminalised for crimes they were committed as a result of the exploitation and in line with international law. [10] A clear legislative alignment is essential to uphold the rights of child victims and fulfil the protective intent of the Modern Slavery Act.

April 2025